According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), medical malpractice is the third-leading cause of death in the United States. Only heart disease and cancer cause more fatalities each year. This is perhaps shocking to many, but others are all familiar with what the kind of devastation and turmoil medical negligence can cause. Many people mistakenly believe that they have a medical malpractice lawsuit if their doctor simply makes a mistake while treating you. However, this isn’t necessarily true. The fact of the matter is that there is a lot more to a medical malpractice suit than a patient sustaining an injury. In most cases, the measure of whether a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare provider was negligent or failed to provide adequate care is determined by whether or not the patient would have received the same level of care from another qualified healthcare professional. As you can imagine, this can be difficult to prove.
While it is true that most medical professionals strive to exercise the highest standard of care for all patients, regardless of the situation, there are times when things do not go as planned. Sure, mistakes happen and doctors are human like the rest of us, but if you were injured or lost a loved one because of the negligence of a doctor, you may be able to file a lawsuit. Here at Wormington & Bollinger, we have extensive experience representing victims of medical negligence throughout Texas. We understand how emotionally tiring and damaging these cases can be, which is why we are here to do the hard part for you.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice takes place when a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare professional does or doesn’t do something that results in an injury or some level of harm to the patient. In a nutshell, medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider strays from the recognized “standard of care” in the treatment of his or her patient. By definition, the standard of care is what a qualified medical provider would or wouldn’t have done under the same or similar circumstances. So, whether or not someone has a medical malpractice suit depends on whether the provider was negligent or not.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?
Before you can truly determine whether or not you have a medical malpractice claim, it is important to find out how much time you have legally in order to bring the claim against the person responsible for your injuries. It should be noted that medical malpractice cases, just like all other civil claims, have time limits as to when they must be filed. These limits, or “statutes of limitations” require that you file your claim within a certain period from when you were injured. To learn more about Texas’ laws pertaining to when you must legally file a medical malpractice claim, contact Wormington & Bollinger today.
In recent years, numerous states have started to require a “certificate of merit”, which will help determine that the injuries you sustained were as the result of malpractice or negligence on the part of a medical professional. In order to file a certificate of merit, your medical records must be reviewed by another, trusted physician. In most cases, an attorney will file the certificate of merit. However, this is something that you should be aware of before proceeding with a medical malpractice suit.
So, Do I Have a Claim?
As we have mentioned before, there are several key factors that will help determine whether or not you have a medical malpractice claim. For one, you must be able to prove that a doctor or another medical professional made a mistake, and you were harmed by that mistake. To learn more about your rights regarding filing a medical negligence lawsuit in the state of Texas, contact an attorney from Wormington & Bollinger today.